“So, if our order is going to be $17, what will the tax be?” Won Woo asked while he and Mingyu were waiting in line to order. (Just going off of US currency now, SORRY, I’M NOT KOREAN LOL)

 

“What?” Mingyu asked and looked dumbfounded for a few seconds. “I don’t know!” He pouted.

 

“If it’s 10 cents for every dollar, you jus-”

 

“Stop! I don’t want a math lesson before I eat!” Mingyu cut him off with a scowl on his face. Won Woo just laughed and wasn’t upset from the way the younger said that, he knew he used that tone because he was getting annoyed now!

 

“If we order two cheeseburgers and Won Woo eats both, how many cheeseburgers will Mingyu have?” Won Woo said with a grin this time. It was a more simple problem at least!

 

“Easy, one, because Mingyu will get up and order another one!” Mingyu laughed.

 

“Well, the correct answer would have been zero since Mingyu also gave that third cheeseburger to Won Woo.” The older said with a small pout.

 

“Is this a hint that I should buy you three?”

 

“No, I’m just messing around?” Won Woo asked innocently and it just warmed Mingyu’s heart. He was really trying hard at this socializing, wasn’t he? He was sure this was a lot different from what he usually does with Soo Min.

 

“Okay, got it.” Mingyu nodded with a cute smile that had Won Woo trying to hide his blush. They were next in line now. “Two cheeseburgers, two large sodas and one large fry, please.”

 

“Anything else?” The female clerk asked with a nervous smile.

 

Mingyu looked over to Won Woo who shyly smiled. “Can I have my own fries?”

 

“Sure!” Mingyu nodded and quickly ordered another large fry. “That’s it.”

 

Once Mingyu paid for their order, they were given their cups for their fountain drinks and headed over to fill them up. “Sorry, I didn’t think to ask if you wanted your own fries.”

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo assured him. “I almost thought you ordered one because you’re on a diet or something? Not that there’s anything wrong with being on a diet…”

 

“Oh, no, it’s not like that. I just thought you might want to leave some room in your stomach so you can eat later when you go home. Fries are filling!” He explained while Won Woo started to fill his cup after him.

 

“Right, thanks for thinking of that.” Won Woo gave a weak smile.

 

“No problem.” Mingyu was a bit worried, but he knew Won Woo would be okay once they started to eat. He wasn’t planning on keeping him out too long just so he could go home and talk to his best friend before it got too late. “Uh! Your cup is over filling!” He suddenly said and Won Woo snapped out of it.

 

“Crap.” He muttered while pulling his cup back and it splashed on his shirt and shoes, at least it didn’t get on his black skinny jeans, but then again, it wouldn’t have mattered since they were black. Won Woo shook the soda on his hand off before he let his head fall back in defeat. He was doing so well! He was accident free up until this point.

 

“It’s okay!” Mingyu said after grabbing some napkins to help clean up the spill. “Accidents happen!” He added. When he finished wiping up the soda off the floor and counter, he took Won Woo’s hand to help wipe the liquid off but Won Woo got embarrassed and swiped his hand away.

 

“I can do it.” He said and took the napkin from Mingyu. His fringe masked the blush on his cheeks when he lowered his head. Mingyu understood that he was embarrassed and ended up wiping off his shoes real quick. Just then, their order was called out and Mingyu excused himself before leaving to fetch their tray of food.

 

Won Woo remained at the soda station(lack of vocab lol) and was blotting at his damp shirt with the napkin Mingyu gave him.

 

“Here.” Someone suddenly held out a few more towards him. Won Woo stilled and slowly turned to see who it was. It was Daniel(I.M)!

 

 

“Thanks.” He let out a small sigh and took the napkins from his friend.

 

“What happened?” Daniel asked while sipping on his own fountain drink. “I was sitting near the back and noticed you.”

 

“I spilled my drink. Isn’t it obvious?” Won Woo snickered. “Thank god there’s not too many people around.”

 

“That would be so embarrassing!” Daniel frowned at the thought. He gave a sheepish laugh when Won Woo gave a small glare to him. They both knew not to say things like that to each other since it never helps. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine.” Won Woo assured him after tossed the used napkins away.

 

“Are you alone?” Daniel asked while looking around.

 

“No, are you?”

 

“You’re not alone?!” Daniel looked shocked and it made Won Woo want to laugh. “Soo Min’s here?!”

 

“No.” Won Woo shook his head and did his best to hide his guilty expression. He just couldn’t stop thinking about the situation with her.

 

“Oh…” Daniel’s panicked expression deflated and he seemed relieved. “Then, who are you with-another girl?!”

 

“Will you chill out. No, I’m not with any girls right now, relax!” This time Won Woo laughed. While Won Woo was typically nervous and shy when it came to strangers, Daniel was super shy and awkward when it came to girls. He hasn’t made much progress since they met in high school and still got nervous whenever Won Woo’s best friend Soo Min was around. He was too shy to actually truly befriend Soo Min because she’s a girl(extremely awkward and shy around girls) and Jihoon sometimes intimidated him with his tsundere persona, so he pretty much only talked to Won Woo out of the three. They’re not entirely close, but close enough to hang out around campus sometimes or in class. They rarely hangout outside of school since Daniel has other friends that are CLOSER to him.

 

“Then, who are you with?” Daniel seemed so interested now. “Jihoon?”

 

“No.”

 

“Who else could it be?!” He seemed so worried now. “You got a new friend or something that I didn’t know about?”

 

(Aw LOL)

 

“Uh, yeah. Sorry… forgot to mention it before.” Won Woo said with a small frown. He guessed Daniel was probably feeling left out now. It was usually them two who would hang out outside of school when Soo Min or Jihoon were too busy to eat out with Won Woo. Now that he thought about it in a more funnier perspective, it was like Won Woo was cheating on Daniel with a new person, friendship wise! “Do you want to meet him-”

 

“No, that’s okay! Not today!” Daniel backed up a few steps. “Was nice running into you, I’ll see you in class! Be sure to return my notes, too!”

 

“Okay, later.” Won Woo said with a wave and quietly watched Daniel hurry away from the inside restaurant in the food court. Is that what I look like to other people? He thought with another frown. He hoped not. And he hoped he could help Daniel with that as well.

 

“I’m back!” Mingyu’s voice caught his attention and snapped him out of his thoughts. “They called out the wrong order, that’s why I took so long.” He explained after setting their drinks on the tray to carry. “Let’s go sit down.” Won Woo nodded and quietly followed him to the table. “Are you okay? Mingyu asked after passing over his companion’s food.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Won Woo assured him with a stronger smile this time.

 

“That’s good. Enjoy your food!” Mingyu chimed before opening his cheeseburger from it’s wrapped and took a big bite. Won Woo just smiled while he watched Mingyu enjoy his food. He noticed he felt better after Mingyu returned with their food. Or maybe it was just the food that made him feel better? Won Woo shrugged at that silly thought and took a bite of his own cheeseburger.

 

...

 

“Shouldn’t you be getting home now?” Jihoon asked after opening up a recent project file on his computer. “You should talk to Won Woo.”

 

“I know, but I thought to visit you for a bit. Can’t I just sit and watch?” She asked with a bit of hope in her tone. It had been a while since the two got to hang out with just him and her. He’s been so busy working on his own music stuff that he’s rarely available and she was starting to dislike it, but at the same time she was happy that he was so focused on it. She tries to not be selfish and keep him away from his work too long. It was nice that he talked with her about her issue regarding her JiHan ship and Won Woo, but it would also be nice if they could hang out for a few minutes and talk about something that wasn’t music related or school related.

 

“You’re going to get bored.” Jihoon warned.

 

“Okay, I’ll go then.” She sighed in defeat. “Thanks for talking with me. I appreciated your advice.”

 

“No problem.” He assured her with a small smile over his shoulder. “Be sure to lock the door on your way out, okay?”

 

“Right. See you later.” She nodded before leaving his studio. After she shut the door behind herself, she let out another quiet sigh. Why is it so hard to hang out with him? She liked hanging out with her friends, especially the ones she didn’t see enough of, but lately everyone had been so busy with school and their own things. She’s just lucky she actually lives with Won Woo or she’d be getting pretty lonely by now. I guess I should go home.

 

She left Jihoon’s parents house after deciding on going straight home without any detours or stops. She already had enough Choco Pies at home and she already had a smoothie and a half. And if she were honest, she wasn’t really that hungry yet. Maybe we’ll get something to eat after we talk. That sounded like a good plan.

 

Despite she knew things would be okay once she got home and talked to her best friend, she just couldn’t help but worry about their pending encounter. She hated it when they were on bad terms or there was something bothering their friendship. It was the worst, she hated dealing with it. If she could have it her way, she’d just say she was sorry for overreacting and lighten up the mood with a joke. I should learn to be more serious and not make jokes all the time. It was how she coped with serious situations while growing up. It was probably a habit that couldn’t be fixed that easily.

 

Because she was so lost in thoughts about it, she accidentally bumped into someone and snapped out of it. “Oh, sorry!” She apologized and quickly knelt down to help pick up the person’s dropped items. It was a shopping bag and their pouch clutch. Whoops! When she handed the clutch over, she noticed the person had long jet black hair and was super pretty and looked oddly familiar.

 

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” HE said.

 

Soo Min just stood there slightly shocked by the voice, she had shamelessly assumed the person was a woman because of their long silky black locks, but after getting a better look at them, he was definitely a guy!

 

Their encounter was so quick and brief that when Soo Min snapped out of it, she was standing alone by herself on the sidewalk. “What just happened?” She asked herself. It was the first time she encountered someone like that, so of course she was a little stunned. When she looked off into the direction he left, she rushed over to see if she could spot him in the small crowds. But he was nowhere to be seen.

 

 

She managed to remember he was wearing a red cardigan with a white shirt and some sort of black hat, she didn’t know what kind since she wasn’t into fashion, but now that she thought about it, that’s all she could remember besides his long raven hair! Curse this short memory span!

 

Maybe they’d bump into each other again someday?

...

 

“Wow, we make a perfect team!” Mingyu chimed when the basketball game machine spit out several arcade tickets. He bent down to gather the massive strip before turning to Won Woo who had a smile on his face from looking at their winnings. It was like he was a little kid again, it made Mingyu so happy that he got to witness this playful side of Won Woo tonight. Despite it’s been three weeks since they first met, and they hadn’t spent a lot of time together either, this was a good start.

 

“How many do you think we won?” Won Woo asked curiously.

 

“I think we won enough to get that Hello Kitty plush you were talking about earlier.” Mingyu pointed to the prize on the shelf behind the counter.

 

“Oh…” Won Woo’s expression faltered a bit. He had been thinking about winning it for Soo Min, as another peace offering, but now he felt that wouldn’t be fair since Mingyu made the most winning shots. He deserved the tickets more.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Forget Hello Kitty, why don’t you pick what you want?” He suggested before pointing for them to head over to the counter.

 

“I don’t really want anything, though.” Mingyu chuckled when they reached the counter.

 

“Me either.”

 

“Are you sure? You should pick something.”

 

“But there’s nothing I really want…” Won Woo mumbled, that was something he’s grown up saying a lot. He looked at all of the possible prizes he could pick, though, his eyes kept landing on that Hello Kitty plush.

 

“Let’s get the Hello Kitty plush, then.” Mingyu said before gaining the arcade clerk’s attention.

“Wait-”

 

“Can we have that Hello Kitty plush on the shelf?” The female clerk nodded nervously before she turned and grabbed the prize. “Thank you!” Mingyu flashed her a dazzling smile and turned  to Won Woo before handing the plush to him. “Here, take it!”

 

“Uh…” Won Woo accepted it and glanced at the clerk who let out a small squeak before leaving the counter with a flustered expression. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his appearance, being someone who looked cool and chic while holding something usually targeted for young girls, or that she shipped him and Mingyu together? Does everyone on the planet ship us together?

 

Yes, Jeon Won Woo, they do. (LOL)

 

“C’mon, let’s go!” Mingyu guided Won Woo out of the mall’s arcade a moment later. “It’s getting late, and you look tired.” It was indeed getting late when he checked his watch reading that displayed 8:46pm. That probably wasn’t late to most people, but he also had Soo Min in mind. He wanted Won Woo to talk to her at least before it got too late. He didn’t want her going to sleep before Won Woo got home.

 

“I’m okay.” Won Woo assured him while they were headed to the exit.

 

“Awh, are you having that much fun?” Mingyu grinned when they stopped by the exit.

 

“No.” Won Woo pouted, he was feeling teased. But he supposed it was payback from earlier when he about Math.

 

“It’s okay, we can hang out again soon. I don’t want to keep you out too late, either.”

 

“It’s only…” Won Woo muttered before pulling his phone out to check the time. There was a missed call from his mother and he frowned. “Uh, yeah, maybe it is getting late.” He quickly put his phone away.

 

“Everything okay?” Mingyu noticed his strange behavior instantly.

 

“Yeah, let’s go.” He hugged the plush tight to his chest before he turned to head out the exit.

 

Mingyu followed after him, he felt quite worried now, but he wasn’t going to pry. He walked Won Woo home and started some distracting conversations in hopes to lighten up his mood, he looked so down after he looked at his phone earlier. Luckily, some of his mini stories had Won Woo smiling again. He swore his heart fluttered every time the guy smiled, it was so beautiful.

 

Sadly, their time was cut short when they finally made it to Won Woo’s shared apartment. It was time to say goodbye, and honestly, both of them didn’t want part. They really did have a great time today after all… even if it was just as friends.

 

“I’ll wait until you’re inside.” Mingyu gave his famous kind smile to Won Woo.

 

He stood there and admired it for a few seconds before he finally snapped out of it. “Thanks… get home safely. I’ll see you around?”

 

“Sure, you have my number, too! Make use of it!” He laughed and that caused Won Woo to blush.

 

“I’m going! Bye!” He hurried inside with that cute flustered expression before it could get worse. Gosh he was just so damn adorable sometimes! Mingyu happily turned around and headed home shortly after.

 

....

 

When Won Woo made it up to his place, he was met with Soo Min lying down on the couch, on her side facing the couch cushions. She had finally emerged from her room since yesterday and he honestly felt relieved. He worried last night when she didn’t respond to Jeonghan, though he hadn’t heard from the guy either since then.

 

“Won Woo?” She asked after turning over to see him walk in from the front entrance.

 

“Hey.” He said and made his way over when she sat up. She patted the spot next to him and he took a seat next to her and placed the Hello Kitty plush off to the side. Soo Min hadn’t even noticed it, otherwise she would have commented on it.

 

“I’m… sorry, for how I reacted last night.” She started off with an apology.

 

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have said what I said… it’s my fault.”

 

“I never really thought about it until you pointed it out. I was surprised at myself, to be honest… how upset I got when you brought it up. I didn’t think it was going to bother me at all, but it did.” She sighed and stared at the coffee table before them.

 

“Jeonghan was kind of upset with me after you left. I was mad at myself too…”

 

“I’m not sure if I was really mad at you or not. I think I was more… upset about the thoughts that came to mind after you mentioned it. I just couldn’t think about anything else and felt like I needed to be alone and reevaluate everything.”

 

“I was just being a jerk when I told you to stop shipping me with Mingyu… you don’t have to reevaluate anything…”

 

“I’m still going to ship you with him regardless.” She gave a small laugh. “But I don’t know about the JiHan ship. I still like them, but honestly… I really love Jeonghan. And I guess the thought about JiHan being real, if they did like each other, what would happen to my relationship with him? I started to think… what if he liked Jisoo more and left me for him? That just really broke my heart because… I love him.” Even if she heard it straight from JiHan themselves, she was still thinking about it.

 

“I’m sorry, Soo Min. I didn’t think bringing it up would hurt you like this…” Won Woo felt utterly horrible now as he watched her hold back tears. “I just know Jeonghan really loves you, and even if he did like Jisoo, you would be the one he picks in the end, I can’t imagine it any other way.” He added before resting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She had her head down and wiped at her eyes here and there.

 

Just then, Won Woo noticed Jeonghan enter the apartment and look their way with a concerned look, it was obvious Soo Min was crying right now. He decided to drop by and see how things were going… but he didn’t expect to walk in on this.

 

“But even if it was real… and he did leave me for Jisoo, I’d be heartbroken naturally, but I’d support him because if he’s happy, then I’m happy.”

 

“You’re still going on about it?” Jeonghan interrupted with a small laugh when he came over to join them. “How could I ever leave my King?” Soo Min looked up quickly to see her boyfriend looking down at her and he reached over to wipe a tear from her eyes. “Awww, babe, don’t cry about it anymore. JiHan isn’t real… I’m not leaving you for Jisoo, ever!” He said before taking the seat Won Woo gave up for him. “I only played along because I thought it made you happy, but if it’s going to make you think like this, I’ll stop for real this time.”

 

“I’ll let you two talk…” Won Woo said quietly before he left for the kitchen. Soo Min watched him leave the room knowing she was going to talk to him later after Jeonghan. I can already feel Jihoon whacking me over the head with his guitar… she thought as she faced Jeonghan again. Her conflicted feelings always annoyed her lefty friend.

 

“I’m going to sound so conflicted when I say… I like JiHan but in reality, it makes me worry about our relationship. I know you told me I have nothing to worry about… but-”

 

“Well, I can assure you that our relationship is solid. Sure, Jisoo is beautiful but you’re the true beauty in my heart. I think and talk about you a lot when I’m with him, he knows it too, how much I love and adore you… You really don’t have to worry about me leaving you for a guy, you’re the only guy for me, Chae Soo Min!”

 

“Really?” She was honestly touched by his words, her overflowing tears just proved it.

 

“Really!” He laughed and thumbed away her tears. “So get over it. I love you and only you, you’re my one and only King, and it’ll stay like that forever.”

 

“Gosh, and here I stole your smoothie earlier!” She leaned into his shoulder. “I’m such a bad King.”

 

“Nonsense! What’s mine is yours, remember that!” He laughed and hugged her tight.

 

After Jeonghan comforted her, she eventually calmed down and soon became embarrassed by her behavior recently. “Like Jisoo said earlier, it’s sweet. I’m glad you’re not someone who stops trying at our relationship. I could tell you that you don’t have to try because what more can you do to keep me around? You’re cute, funny, entertaining… I’m going to be a long time subscriber. You can’t get rid of me that easy!” He chuckled before he tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

 

“I don’t know, sometimes I think you could do so much better than me…” she sighed, she was being honest. “So many prettier girls, so many handsome guys…”

 

“Oh right, because I fell in love with their looks alone.” He snickered. “You’d be surprised at how many ugly people there really is. Sure they look like a 10 but their personality is a negative -20.” He said and sounded bitter towards the end. “I went through a lot of negatives before you, miss positive. You broke my ‘love’ meter.”

 

“Stop, you’re going to make me start crying again.” She covered her face and got emotional once more.

 

“That’s okay, you’re so cute when you cry.” He teased and patted her on the back. She nudged him away but laughed when he leaned back over, as if to annoy her now. “Don’t cry too much, or it’ll break my heart.” He added before pulling her into another tight embrace.

“I’m done!” She smiled after a moment and pulled away just a bit. “Thanks.”

 

“Of course… now,” he let her go before he stood up, “I’ll go. You go talk to Won Woo, okay?”

 

“Yes, I will.”

 

“Let me know how things go! Goodnight, I love you.” He bent over a little to give her a quick goodbye kiss.

 

“Love you too, be careful on your way home.” She waved from the couch. He blew her a kiss before giving a final wave. She couldn’t stop the huge grin on her lips at his cute action. This time, she felt better about the situation.

 

After Jeonghan left for the night, Soo Min found Won Woo in his room seated at his desk while browsing through the interwebs on his laptop.

 

“Won Woo?” She asked and gained his attention. She made her way over to his bed to sit down and he faced her in his seat. “Sorry about everything.”

 

“You’re forgiven.” He gave a small smile.

 

“I don’t know how you put up with me in the end, but thanks for sticking with me after my terrible tantrums.” She sighed. Her comment made him laugh.

 

“I don’t think that was a tantrum, but yeah.”

 

“We’re good?” She asked. He nodded and a small smile came to her face.

 

“What about you and Jeonghan?” He asked after facing his computer again.

 

“Everything’s okay, he said I’m the only guy for him! Isn’t that so sweet? I beat Jisoo, and I’m not even a guy!” She fell back on Won Woo’s bed and kicked her legs in the air in victory.

 

“As always, you two are so cute.” Won Woo turned in his seat to face his overjoyed friend once more. Even if he said he doesn’t like Jeonghan, it was a lie, because if he really didn’t like him, he wouldn’t think the couple were so damn cute.

 

“So… what did you do today?” She asked after she finished up her little victory moment… whatever it was, she crossed her legs on his bed and got ready to listen to him.

 

“Not much…” he mumbled and quickly faced his computer. His action caused a red flag to go up. He did do something but wasn’t saying it!

 

“You saw Mingyu today, didn’t you?” She grinned before crawling off his bed to kneel by his desk and watched his slightly flustered expression amplify when she tried to get a better view of his face. He was trying to ignore her by grabbing his phone and acting like he got a text which totally blew his cover… sadly, who would be texting him right now?

 

“And if I did?” He sighed in defeat before he turned to grab the Hello Kitty plush behind his laptop and tossed it at her. “Here.”

 

“What’s this?!” She asked in surprise.

 

“Mingyu and I went to the arcade. We won a lot of tickets… he let me pick the prize and I saw that.” He pointed. “There wasn’t anything he wanted, and I didn’t want anything either…”

 

“Awh, thanks for thinking of me while you were out…” she smiled and hugged the plush to her chest. “I promise I won’t be such a bad friend anymore!”

 

“I should be saying that.” He chuckled. “We’re both bad.”

 

“We are.” She sighed and sat back on his bed before she fell on her back once more to stare up at the ceiling. Won Woo got up and joined her a moment later and let out a dejected sigh in the process. It was silent for a few minutes before he spoke up.

 

“I missed a call from my mom earlier.”

 

“You did?” She her side to look at him. “Whoops, having too much fun with your boyfriend now, you’re missing calls!” She teased and poked him in the side. Won Woo just sighed because he didn’t have the energy to comment on her words. “Are you going to call her back?”

 

“I should… but…” Won Woo trailed off. It was late in Korea, but still early in the states. He probably wouldn’t be able to call her back until mid morning which would be around 1 or 2am in Korea.

 

“Your parents don’t call often, you really should call her back ASAP, see what’s up?” When she saw the dejected look on his face, she sat up quickly. “I’ll stay up with you! Better yet… let’s go!” She pulled on his arm to get him up out of his bed.

 

“What are you doing?” He asked while she dragged him out of his room.

 

...

 

20 minutes later.

 

“It’s almost midnight.” Jihoon glared at his two friends standing at the front door of his parents house. Luckily they were away on vacation that started yesterday, there were no worried thoughts about them waking up when Soo Min rang the bell at least a hundred times until he heard it in his studio.

 

“We brought nom noms!” She cheered and held up one of the takeout bags.

“You may enter.” Jihoon quickly stepped aside. Honestly, he had been locked up in his studio nearly all day and barely left to get snacks since his mom wasn’t around to call him for dinner at the table. You could say he was sort of a workaholic and would starve if no one reminded him about food.

 

“Gosh, why didn’t you tell us your parents were out of town?! No wonder why I didn’t see them today, I came here twice!”

 

“You came here twice?” Won Woo asked after handing over Jihoon’s share of the food.

 

“Yes, twice!” She nodded when she passed them their chopsticks. “Now I just thought of that girl group, TWICE!”

 

“Squirrel brain.” Jihoon shook his head before taking a bite of his food. “Thoughtful squirrel brain.” He quickly corrected. He probably shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds him right now.

 

“When are they coming back?” Won Woo asked while poking around his food.

 

“Next Friday.” Jihoon mumbled his reply and dug into his food like he was starving.

 

“No way! Gosh, that’s such a long time!” Soo Min frowned. “I suppose we’ll be coming over a lot until then.”

 

“Make sure you bring food.” Jihoon said between bites.

 

“I’m sure that goes without saying.” She laughed.

 

“Oh, right, so why are you two here?” He asked before he stopped to take a drink of his water.

 

“Ah, Won Woo missed a call from his mom. He was going to call her back but you know, time differences.” She sighed while patting Won Woo on the back when his dejected expression returned after she mentioned it. “We thought to come and chill here until he can call her.”

 

“Oh…” Jihoon nodded quietly.

 

“You were going to kick us out after we finished eating, weren’t you?!” She pouted. He already kicked her out twice today!

 

“No!” He slightly stuttered. “Now that I know why, stay as long as you want.” He said before his eyes panned over to Won Woo.

 

“Yay! Sleep over at Jihoon’s!” Soo Min cheered in her seat, her friends couldn’t help but laugh at her excitement.

 

The WooMin duo have slept over at Jihoon’s place a few times… or maybe a lot back in high school. It’s probably why they found her excitement silly since it wasn’t nothing new. When Won Woo’s parents left for their overseas jobs in the states, he’d stay with Soo Min a few nights or Jihoon a few nights since his guardian was a busy person as well and would only come to check on him a few times a week to make sure he wasn’t starving or dead.

 

Jihoon’s parents were very welcoming of their son’s friends and treated them as if they were their own children. Soo Min’s parents got along really well with them as well as Won Woo’s parents. The trio’s parents were good friends with each other, too! Would it be too much of a coincidence that their dads were best friends in high school? They always joked that Soo Min was supposed to be a boy but something changed during the pregnancy. Sometimes her dad would greet her on the phone with ‘how’s my son doing these days?’ and she’d reply ‘just fine, mom!’, they had a funny relationship sometimes.

 

Throughout high school, Soo Min and Jihoon looked after Won Woo, though it was Soo Min who really looked after him basically all his life. She always made sure he was fed and that he had clothes to wear, that he had everything he needed since his parents weren’t able to be the ones to do that for him after they left. Jihoon’s parents did the same for him but Won Woo honestly struggled because he felt like he was a burden them.

 

Growing up, Won Woo learned from his parents about earning and being independent, not much about relying on others for anything. That kind of screwed him up when they suddenly left to the states for their jobs, they basically left him there by himself where he had to rely on his friends or else be alone.

 

For a while, he had this feeling like his parents didn’t really care about him. He started to notice when he was 14, how they stopped eating at the dinner table with him and said they already ate when they got off work, they even stopped asking about school and homework. He started to wonder if it was something he did? Then they were offered their overseas jobs.

 

He hated it. He hated how they accepted the job offerings so easy, so quickly when they first told him. He thought he’d be going with them, but apparently they hadn’t even thought about him when making their decision. It was during a point in his life he needed them most and he honestly would have liked to go with them because he didn’t want to be away from them like that, it was probably the only thing he wanted but…

 

So many thoughts ran through his head at the time, if he went with them, would he burden them since they’re busy people? Perhaps his wish to go with them was a selfish one, and since then, he never asked for anything in fear of being told he was being selfish.

 

“Won Woo?”

 

He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Soo Min call his name. He looked her way before he looked around, they were currently in the living room of Jihoon’s house now, a movie was playing on the flat screen.

 

“I think it’s okay to call your mom, now.” She showed him her phone, the time displayed 1:29am.

 

“Right…” he nodded and pulled out his own phone. He pulled up his contacts and opened up his mother’s number. His thumb hesitated over the call button and his friends noticed. He wondered what she had to say the first time she called, because it was rare for her or his father to call since they were always so busy. Was it something bad? Something serious? But if it was, they’d have called again by now, right?

 

After taking a moment to prepare himself, he pressed the button and it began to dial. He put it on speaker since he was too nervous to hold it to his ear, what if he ended the call by accident, it happened before!

 

It rang a few times before his mother picked up. “Won Woo?”

 

“Mom?”

 

“Ah, hello son. Um, why are you calling me? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

 

“I thought you called me earlier?”

 

“I did?” They could hear her pull the phone away to check. “Oh, whoops! Sorry, I must have dialed you or something.”

 

“Oh…” Won Woo frowned. So she really hadn’t called him on her own intent. Do they hate me or something? Did they find out that I’m…

 

“Sorry that I haven’t been calling, Won Woo… it’s just been so busy here.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“How are you doing?”

 

“Fine, and you?”

 

“I’m hanging in there.” She chuckled. “Well, I wish we could stay on the line and catch up, but I have a lot of work to do and I don’t want to keep you up any longer. I’ll try to call again sometime soon. Take care of yourself until then, okay?”

 

“Alright, you too.”

 

“Bye~!”

 

The call ended.

 

Won Woo stared at his phone for a minute. No, I love you? Don’t parents usually end a call with I love you? Those thoughts started to cloud his mind.

 

“You okay?” Jihoon asked before patting him on the shoulder. Won Woo didn’t reply and his friends could guess maybe he wasn’t. They too noticed how his mother ended the call.

 

“It just probably slipped her mind, don’t worry about it!” Soo Min tried to assure him, but it wasn’t working.

 

“Do you think they found out?” He finally muttered.

 

He never got to tell them… that he was gay. It was around the time they left for their jobs, so of course he didn’t get to tell them, but did they figure it out before then? Was that why they were being like that?

 

“I don’t think that has anything to do with it.” Soo Min frowned.

 

“But what if it does?” He sighed.

 

Both Soo Min and Jihoon fell silent. They didn’t want to think his parents found out and started to hate him for it. They didn’t seem like the type who’d reject their son over that, though, you never know.

 

“You’re their son. Whether they found out or not, I’m sure they love you the same since you were born.” Jihoon took his phone out of his hand so he’d stop staring at his mother’s contact. “If they’re being like this because of it, then perhaps we just have to wait a bit for them to accept it.”

 

“Won Woo… whatever happens, you’ve got me and Jihoon.” Soo Min rested her hand on his other shoulder. “We love you, flaws and all. Don’t ever think you’re not loved, okay?”

 

“Thanks.” Won Woo rested his hand atop of hers with a weak smile.

 

“I think this calls for a group hug!” She wrapped her arms around him before she ushered Jihoon to join.

 

“I’m fine.” He shook his head.

“It’s for Won Woo, not you!” She laughed.

 

“It’s okay.” Won Woo chuckled. “The fact he let us stay over shows his love. We both know how he’d rather stay locked up in his studio composing music, but he dropped everything just to come open the door when he smelt food. That counts for something, right?”

 

“Yah!” Jihoon pouted in his seat. The two laughed at his expression before he got up and collected their empty cups off the coffee table and took them to the kitchen. That left the other two alone in the room now.

 

“Are you really okay?” Soo Min asked once Jihoon was gone. She wondered if Won Woo was just putting on a brave face so he wouldn’t worry their short friend.

 

“I will be.” He sighed before he rested his head on her shoulder.

 

“Awh!” She gave him another hug and his hair in a calming manner. “Hush little baby don’t you cry-”

 

“I’m not crying.” He complained in her gentle hold.

 

“Should I go get my guitar?” Jihoon asked when he walked in on the scene. She was babying their friend and even if it looked cute, he hated it because she does it to him too! He and Won Woo didn’t need to be babied!

 

“What a great idea!” Soo Min beamed, she was thinking he’d play the tune for her to sing along.

 

“Okay, I’ll go and… get it.” Jihoon slowly grinned.

 

“Wait… nevermind!” Soo Min shook her head and she was done cradling Won Woo.

 

“I’ll go get it to repay you for that empty smoothie you traded me earlier.” He said before he turned and left to fetch his beloved guitar.

“I said I was sorry!” She crawled behind Won Woo. “Save me!”

---

Chapter eight!

 

Won Woo meeting with one of his other friends outside of school other than Soo Min and Jihoon, poor Daniel feels betrayed~!

Won Woo: He’s fine. He has his own friends.

Daniel: *SEND HELP*

Hyungwon: Sorry, you’re on your own.

Daniel: *REJECTED*

NEXT CHAPTER~

~
 

ORIGINAL A/N FOR CH 14

 

LOL!

Some WooMin Fan art!

I saw a photo on facebook the other day and was like THAT TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE WOOMIN

So I just had to make some fan art haha XD it was just for fun which is why it’s not perfect

Whoa, this chapter got pretty long!

And things are quickly coming together, I’m excited! Are you?!

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Until next time, bye~!